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- Sigvard Mahler Dam's theory on the family connections of what he has named "The Bjergegaard Family" is based largely on a reinterpretation of the so called "Hummerklo" arms. According to Sigvard the "Hummerklo" is actually a "Geddek?ft" (pike's jawbone), a symbol of speed - as knights used to fasten a pike's jawbone into the nostrils of their horses, making them run fast and wild.
J?rgen Gagge and his wife Margrethe/Merete Pedersdatter had a memorial made in 1601 to honour her parents: Peder Hansen (Uf) and "Mette Hans Pedersens Datter". This was in the from of a large church bell for Klemensker Church, which later disappeared - probably melted down for its metal. Laurids de Thurah reports (in "Omst?ndelig og tilforladelig Beskrivelse over Bornholm og Christians?e", 1756 - he was an official on Bornholm) that the bell displayed two arms: one with a "Gavlsparre" (chevron), the other with what he called a "Giedde Kieften". The Uf-family arms displayed a chevron. This would seem to indicate that Mette Hansdatter's father Hans Pedersen's arms displayed a "Geddek?ft" (pike's jawbone)!
Another instance of the "Geddek?ft" can be found in Julius Bidstrup's book on the "Familien Koefoed - B", in which he writes that by the altar of the now demolished ?stermarie Church there was a gravestone with three copper plates (which no longer exist) for Peder Kofoed (died 1616) and his two wives. The first with the initials "P.K.", for Peder Kofoed, which depicted his arms, the hoof or "foot" of a cow ("foden af en kue" or "et koben"). The second plate is engraved "E.H.G.D." for: Elsebeth Henning Gagge's Daughter; her arms depicts a half mill-wheel (halv kaggehjul) and a chevron (sparre). The third is engraved "I.P.H.D." for: Inger Peder Hansen's Daughter; her arms depicts what he stated looked like a "kindben" (cheek-bone). This tells us that Inger can not be either the daughter of Peder Hansen (Myre) of Fuglesangsg?rd, 6 Vdg. Ibsker parish (whose arms depicts 3 ants), or the daughter of Peder Hansen (Uf) of Simleg?rd in Klemensker parish (whose arms displays a chevron). Sigvard Mahler Dam believes that this so called "Kindben" is identical to the "Geddek?ft" (pike's jawbone) arms of "Mette Hans Pedersens Datter".
Mette Hansdatter's husband Peder Hansen Uf (died 1596) owned a number of the Myre-family farms, including Fuglsangsg?rd (later known as Gaggeg?rd, still later as: I Klinteby), 6 Vdg. in Ibsker. For several generations Fuglsangsg?rd had been a Myre-family farm; first known to have been owned by Truid Myre (died circa 1489). It has been assumed that Mette Hansdatter inherited the family farms of two brothers from the Bornholmer Myre-family (Peder and Truid), which would seem to point to Mette being a close relative. As a result some have concluded that she is their sister, and thus daughter of Hans Pedersen Myre of Fuglsangsg?rd, 6 Vdg. Ibsker. However, as has been stated above the Myre-family arms depicted 3 ants.
Dr. M.K. Zarthmann, in the 1930s, wrote: "J?rgen Gagge gave a beautiful memorial in honour of his parents-in-law Peder Hansen Uf and Mette Hansdatter, because in 1601 he had cast a large church bell, embossed with the Uf-family's chevron-emblem and the Myre-family's crawling ant." Zarthmann made the change from Thurah's "Giedde Kieften" to that of one (1) crawling ant! Possibly because he was believed that Mette Hansdatter was the daughter of Hans Pedersen Myre?
According to Sigvard Mahler Dam's article "De bornholmske v?bnersl?gter Uf og Splid - noget nyt om deres v?bener" (published in Heraldisk Tidsskrift, 1982), Peder Hansen Uf and his wife Mette Hansdatter donated a pew to Saint Clement's Church. In a journal, a description of the donation reads "Clement's Church: door to pew, carved oak framed with smooth fir planks - showing helmeted arms with vesselhorn and the following markings: a shield with an upside down "Gavlsparre" (chevron) design, and the other shield sporting a "halv Hummerklo" (half lobster claw), Chief Justice Peder Hansen Uf and wife Margrethe Hansdatter. The door was painted green, the arms and the door frame painted red and white. Height 84 centimeters, length 56 centimeters. . ."
Zarthmann never did see the bell for himself, so we must look to Thurah's much earlier, and impartial, account of the (no longer existing) bell, and conclude that the set of arms on the pew door, described as a "halv Hummerklo" (which can be seen on the pew door to this very day), is identical to Thurah's "Giedde Kieften" on the Klemensker bell.
In "Landsdommer-Patriciatet p? Bornholm", part 2 (published in SAXO, 1988), Sigvard states that Hans Pedersen (-1537-1543-) of Bjergeg?rd, 9 Vdg. Vestermarie, is the brother of Laurids Pedersen (died circa 1550?), who was chief justice (Landsdommer) of Bornholm between 1537 and 1545.
At the "Frimandsm?det" held on September 6, 1572 there were 17 men named as being in attendance: 1. Jacob Iversen, Landsdommer; 2. Mester Peder W (= Peder [Mogensen] Uf); the brothers 3. Peder Hansen; and 4. Bent Hansen; 5. J?rgen Pedersen; 6. Peder (Madsen) Kofoed; 7. Oluf Madsen; 8. Oluf Bagge; 9. Hans Mogensen, as he was away at the king's court he was represented by his father Mogens Hansen; 10. Peder (Hansen) Myre; 11. J?rgen Gagge; 12. Berent Hansen (= Berild Hansen); 13. Laurids Pedersen; 14. Jens (Madsen) Kofoed; 15. Christen (Clausen) Ki?ller; 16. Peder Hansen (Uf); and 17. Hans (Madsen) Kofoed. Three advisers to the Danish Parliment (Rigsr?der) had been sent to preside over the meeting, namely: Bi?rn Kaas of Starupgaard, Bi?rn Andersen of Stenholt, and J?rgen Marsvin of Dyb?k. The group expressed heartfelt and solemn words about faithful service to the crown; and it seems they had an inkling of things to come, and therefore begged the King not to let himself be "seduced" by L?beck's representative Sveder Ketting, "because you might expect that L?beck only plotted to keep our island under their yoke." This was during the period in which Bornholm was strongly under the influence (and rulership) of the Hanseatic League free-city of L?beck; the Bornholmers felt greatly put upon by the high taxes, unfair rules, and high-handedness of the L?beckers. Contrary to the opinion of latter historians they must have convinced the envoys, as on the 9th of September the freemen were granted the right to gather shipwrecks from the beaches, hunt in the woods, as well as given full authority over their servants - a great victory for the freemen.
In Sigvard's article "Over hals og hoved" (SAXO, 1991) he mentions that the wife of Truid Myre (died 1574), of Myreg?rd i Olsker parish, is said to have had a arms (v?ben) that looked like a half-bow with several spikes (en halvbue med nogle spidser), also with a helmet with vesselhorns; this is could very easily be a description of the pike's jawbone (lobster claw) arms.
Sigvard makes the conclusion that Inger's father Peder Hansen is identical to the Peder Hansen (-1565-1581-) of Vellensg?rd, Nyker parish. He states that Peder Hansen of Vellensg?rd is the brother of Bendt Hansen (-1565-1572-), of Eskesg?rd in Pedersker parish, who also may have owned a farm at Kysten in Ibsker parish. Bendt is recorded as having taken possession of a shipwreck off Ibsker's coast, something allowed for a nobleman, but the king only recognized him as a freeman, and thus was summoned on November 26, 1565 to appear before the "Herredagen" (High Court) in K?benhavn. This also lead to the conclusion that Mette Hansdatter is the sister of Bendt Hansen and Peder Hansen. And that they are the children of a Hans Pedersen who had a "Geddek?ft" arms. (Again, this has led some to come to the conclusion that they are all the children of Hans Pedersen Myre of Fuglsangsg?rd, 6 Vdg. Ibsker. However, again, Hans Pedersen Myre's arms depicted 3 black ants.) It must also be noted here that the gravestone of Truid Hansen Myre's wife in Olsker display's the "Geddek?ft" image; so she is likely the sister of Laurids Pedersen and Hans Pedersen, and as such was the aunt of Mette Hansdatter! Yet another close family connection for Peder Hansen Uf and Mette Hansdatter to the Myre-family!
The following has been extracted from a translation of the article "Landet Borringholm: Bornholmsk-sk?nske sl?gtskredse", by Sigvard Mahler Dam, published in SAXO, 1986: ". . . the case was put before the "Landsting" (provincial congress) in ?kirkeby on May 22, 1522. The details were discussed, witnesses were heard, and finally a document was drawn up and sealed by the most important officials on Bornholm: 1) the Commander of Hammershus, Niels Ibsen; 2) J?rgen Hals' step-brother Chief Justice Oluf Ottesen (Uf); 3) J?rgen Gagge, who had been made a freeman 20 years previously and was an illegitimate born member of the Gagge-family of Sk?ne; 4) Hans Borgeby of Bjerreg?rd; 5) Anders Kos in Ibsker parish (of K?seg?rd); 6) and the immigrant from L?beck, Peder Kofoed, 7) and Morten Lassen, both mayors in R?nne; 8) Lauritz Jul from an old an distinguished family and a bailiff in ?stermarie parish; 9) Hans Pedersen from the same parish, who later married J?rgen Hals's daughter; 10) and finally the document was signed by the bailiff for ?ker parish, Peder Munck."
(Note: Sigvard seems to have either changed his mind, or miss stated himself, regarding the above Hans Pedersen (nr. 9) of ?stermarie parish - his later writing show that he believes Hans Pedersen to be the same man who later married the daughter of Anne Hals - the sister of J?rgen Hals - and Poul Olsen of Bjergeg?rd.)
So based on the writtings of Sigvard Mahler Dam, we have a number of people who would seem to be connected to the "Geddek?ft" arms in the mid-1500s: 1) Peder Kofoed's wife "Inger Peder Hansens Datter" (-1585-1600-); 2) J?rgen Pedersen (died 1588) of Vellensg?rd in Nyker parish; 3) Laurids Pedersen (-1572-1581-), of Eskesg?rd in Pedersker parish; 4) Peder Hansen Uf's wife "Mette Hans Pedersens Datter" (-1554?-1574?-); 5) Peder Hansen (-1572-1581-) of Vellensg?rd in Nyker parish; 6) Bendt Hansen (-1572-), of Eskesg?rd in Pedersker parish; 7) Chief Justice Laurids Pedersen (-1537-1550-); and 8) Hans Pedersen (-1522?-1537-) of Bjergeg?rd, 9 Vdg. Vestermarie; 9) the wife of Truid Hansen Myre (died 1574) of Store Myreg?rd, 5 Vdg. Olsker.
Little is known about Hans Pedersen's parents. Like Hans Pedersen, and brother Laurids Pedersen, their father Peder probably had the "Geddek?ft" arms, and would not have been a member of the Myre-family. An additional family connection could have come through the wife of Truid Hansen Myre - the couple died childless; the couple's gravestone in the Olsker Church shows the 3 ants of the Myre arms, and the geddek?ft/hummerklo arms of the Bjergegaard-family. Sigvard speculates that she is the daughter of Hans Pedersen (-1537-1543-) of Bjergeg?rd, 9 Vdg. Vestermarie. This provides us with an opening to speculate on the reason for Mette Hansdatter and Peder Hansen Uf obtaining the Myre-family's farms: possibly Mette's father's mother is the daughter of Hans (Pedersen) Myre (mentioned in 1518, dead by 1531) of Fuglsangsg?rd? And as a result she and her husband were in line to inherit the farms?
So, in conclusion, the evidence that Inger Pedersdatter, J?rgen Pedersen, and Laurids Pedersen are the children of Peder Hansen of Vellensg?rd, and that Peder Hansen, Mette Hansdatter, and Bendt Hansen are the children of Hans Pedersen of Bjergeg?rd - brother of Chief Justice Laurids Pedersen, is very circumstantial - but it is the best theory I have seen so far! Sigvard Mahler Dam refers to this family as the "Bjergegaard-Family", because of their association with the farm of that name: Bjergeg?rd (aka Bjerregaard), 9 Vdg. Vestermarie parish.
- Norman Lee Madsen, April 5, 2003.
Extracted from the artictle "Landsdommer-Patriciatet p? Bornholm", part 2, by Sigvard Mahler Dam, published in SAXO, 1988:
There was need for a new chief justice (in 1537) after two previous unfortunate experiences (which the L?beckers had with Jens Hansen Myre and Mogens Uf), it can be expect thtat the L?beckers got a legal jugdement compeling the Danish king to make a particular appoint. In any case there is good reason to interpret that the choosen mand was on good terms with L?beck. Now begins politics as his family's legacy! L?beckers supported his family on Bornholm; the king supported his exiled opponents on Herredagen (the court of appeal to the king). The chief justice had one brother, Hans Pedersen, whose wife's mother (to whom he was guardian), Anne, disputed over Myreg?rd in ?ker parish with the exiled Per Andersen.
Madam Anne's second husband, Hans Borreby, had bequeathed her Myreg?rd, although they had no children together it was legal according to Sk?ne Law so long as the gift not more than half share of the total estate. Madam Anne got the L?beck bailiff to throw Per Andersen off the farm. Per Andersen was surely no paragon of virtue during their feud in 1535, as he was an exile (along with Mogens Uf) by 1537 - taking refuge in K?benhavn, and he cited Madam Anne to the Herredagen (his wife was Hans Borreby's sister), and there he was awarded Myreg?rd via Jyske (Jutlander) Law! And it was hardly by chance. . . .
The antagonism between the crown and L?beck was also expressed through the property that accompanies the high court position. The property, which previously had enriched the magistrate before the reformation of the archbishopric in Lund, now belonged under the king's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The crown's property lay under Hammershus, and so was now under L?beck's jurisdiction. It goes without saying that the more property the king's own bailiff was able to prove did not belonged to the crown (administered under Hammershus), but rather to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction (which was the king's personal property on the island!), well all the better!!! L?beck had endowed the chief justice with an uncertain number of farms, 3 of them the king's bailiff had deprive to him under the reasoning that they belonged under ecclesiastical jurisdiction, even though the farms had for 18 years had been administered by Hammershus, which were the farms the chief justice administered to profit from their rent.
On the 13th of June 1543 petitioned Laurids Pedersen's brother Hans Pedersen be endowed with one of the 3 farms, and here again is reference to the uncertainty as to where the appeal should be heard. The chief justice had in the winter of 1542-43 complained to L?beck about the lossed income from the three missing farms, which King Christian III's man Stig Pors had confiscated because they had previously been under ecclesiastical jurisdiction (and thus now belonged to the crown), and inquired about the above endowments, now wrote to the councilmen in L?beck in reference to the bailiff, who had okayed the endowment of a farm to the magistrate, provided he promised to lend an ear to the bailiff's advice and employed him! Open bribery. Considering the fact that none of Hans Pedersen's three children later held Bjergeg?rd it seems likely that one the farms confiscated by the crown was Bjergeg?rd; this is bolstered by the fact that the farm is known to have been owned by the crown in 1606.
The last occasion we encounter Laurids Pedersen with surety, is on the 10th of June 1545 where he in one apparent tolerably L?beck-disposed society was signatory to a woman's confession after "pinligt forh?r" (torture, literally: painful test), as to how she had tried to poison the L?beck bailiff, Blasius a Wickede, at the request of the bailiff's own wife. The second of undersigner was the succeeding chief justice - also a friend to L?beck - Hans Reimer, then the mayor of R?nne.
Laurids Pedersen was without doubt childless. His brother Hans Pedersen had a daughter, Mette (Hansdatter), who later married a future chief justice (Peder Hansen Uf), and also a great-grandchild, Karen (J?rgensdatter), who likewise would marry a future chief justice (Mads Hansen Kofoed). Neither of his sons (Peder and Bendt Hansen) were later able to attain a high court seat, although one was involved in a joint judgement: on 13th of September 1583 chief justice Peder Hansen (Uf) and 3 freemen, including Bendt Hansen, addressed the citizens (borgere) of Nex? concerning the matter of salvage money.
About the family before Laurids and Hans Pedersen nothing is known. It is interesting however that the family-arms are the same as the extinct family Split: on a red field a white half lobster claw, on the helmet two white vesselhorns (i r?dt feldt en hvid halv hummerklo, p? hjelmen to hvide vesselhorn). The arms are known for the above mentioned Mette Hansdatter and her husband, Peder Hansen (Uf), on a still preserved pew seat hung in Klemensker church. Also known is the report of a gravestone in ?stermarie, for Peder Kofoed and his two wives, Elsebeth Gagge and Inger Peder Hansens Datter. Inger was the niece of Madam Mette, and the report describes "et v?ben n?rmest som et kindben" (an arms adjacent with a cheekbone); note: if the lobster claw image is turned point up it looks similar to the lower jaw from a skull. An interesting example of combination family-arms on the island displays a Kofoed chevron "straddled across" one such lobster claw with point up.
Lastly, an interesting possible tracing concerns the family's many later generations of residence at Eskeg?rd in Pedersker, which may be placed in context regarding "V?bner" (arms carrier) Hans Bentsen of said farm, mention in 1429 by chief justice Peter Bosen.
From the Landbohistorisk Selskab website (Adkomstregistering for the years 1513 through 1550), for the year 1537:
1537-461: Anne bonde i Myreg?rd, enke efter Hans Borigb?g; Ellen (Eline) bonde, gift med Peder Andersen p? Bornholm, senere i Myreg?rd, s?ster til afd?de Hans Borigb?g i Myreg?rd; Hans Borigb?g bonde, d?de, i Myreg?rd, gift med Anne; Peder Andersen bonde p? Bornholm, senere i "Myreg?rd", gift med Elline, s?ster til afd?de Hans Borigb?g ibid; Bornholm ?; Myreg?rd Bornholm, sikkert S?nder hered, mon Pedersker sogn(?), eventuelt ?ker eller Povlsker sogn.
1537-462: Anne bonde i Myreg?rd, enke efter Hans Borigb?g; Bernt Knop, lybsk foged p? Bornholm; Hans Borigb?g bonde, d?de, i Myreg?rd, gift med Anne; Henning Thomesen, tingh?rer i Bornholms S?nder herred, mon = kong Christian II's foged p? Hammershus(?); Jens Hansen bonde ???, landsdommer p? Bornholm; Bornholm ?; Bornholms S?nder herred; Myreg?rd Bornholm, sikkert S?nder herred, mon Pedersker sogn(?), eventuelt ?ker eller Povlsker sogn.
1537-463 ; Anne bonde i Myreg?rd, enke efter Hans Borigb?g; Hans Borigb?g bonde, d?de, i Myreg?rd, gift med Anne; Myreg?rd Bornholm, sikkert S?nder herred, mon Pedersker sogn(?), eventuelt ?ker eller Povlsker sogn.
This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 21 July 2015.
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1500 - 1572 (~ 72 år)
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